FleetWatch Online - 43

New trucks are designed to run with no engine tampering between service intervals. If you need to top up oil or coolant, the truck will tell you via the instrumentation. When this occurs, take it straight to the dealer for repairs because there is a problem somewhere in the engine.

When it comes to getting on with the job of combusting effectively and propelling the truck forwards or backwards, diesel has a few cohorts. Lubricants play a major role in ensuring the smooth operation of diesel engines, helping reduce fuel consumption and engine wear while promoting vehicle uptime. Paul Collings spoke to two suppliers of truck oil solutions designed to help save money and improve overall operational efficiency.

Buying oil has always been a bit of a hit and miss affair for most vehicle owners simply because of the obscure 'coding' of lubricant products. As a result, when drivers choose oil they generally ask for 'multigrade' or some such generic option. When it comes to modern truck engines, this can be a costly move. Specific truck models have specific lubrication needs and as such require oil that is made to directly address those needs. To make things simple and help protect the 'iron assets' they sell, one truck OEM has come up with a simple solution.

MAN Branded Lubricants
"The South African market is quite complicated as far as OE-recommended oils is concerned," says Mike Macdonald, Management Board Member, After Market, MAN Truck & Bus (SA). "There are different oils for different model ranges and this makes it difficult for an operator to know which oil to put in his trucks. The MAN branded Lubricants take the guess work out of choosing the right oil by clearly marking each oil container with the truck models they are intended for."

The oils are approved by MAN head office in Germany and the range includes engine, gearbox and diff oils as well as coolants/antifreeze lubricants. "Customers can buy synthetic and mineral oils direct from MAN," explains Macdonald. "Our buying power allows us to pass on savings to the client."

The process of developing a marque-specific oil range has primarily been driven by the introduction of low sulphur diesel (LSD), says Wayne Powdrell, MAN (SA) National Service Manager. "We've conducted extensive high kilometre testing with local customers which has proved successful. Operators need to educate their staff about lubricants, that the wrong oil can affect the warranty on the vehicle. The issue of topping up oil and radiator levels also needs to be addressed. There's a misconception that a radiator needs to be topped up every day. This is wrong. Adding water to the cooling system dilutes the coolant and causes engine heat to rise. There's also a risk of allowing contaminants into the engine every time a radiator or oil cap is opened. The oil and cooling systems are designed as 'closed', only to be opened during servicing by the manufacturer."

MAN branded engine coolant (left), the label clearly telling users where and how to dispense it.
(Right) Is this generic oil right for your truck? Ask your OEM.

OilMate
Imagine never having to execute a messy oil change on a truck ever again. Sounds a tad far-fetched, right? It's not impossible, says Tiekie Jordaan of OilMate Africa, distributors of the OilMate Advanced Oil Management System. "The 'oil burn valve', which is at the heart of the Cummins Centinel system, has been produced by EMP since 1997 and when the agreement between Cummins and EMP expired in 2001, EMP obtained the rights to produce the OilMate automatic oil change system using the same 'oil burn valve' and make it available to a wider market outside of Cummins. The only difference between the two systems lies in the control thereof. The Centinel system is controlled by the vehicle's ECU (Engine Control Unit) whilst the OilMate is provided with an integral controller which can be programmed for any specific application and its unique duty cycle."

According to Jordaan more than 40 000 OilMate units are in operation worldwide. "The results delivered by the system is proven, not only by laboratory tests, but also confirmed by operational results from the field," he says. "The system extends engine life, reduces the fuel bill and it minimizes waste handling and disposal costs."

Explaining how the system works, Jordaan says: "At pre-programmed intervals, every 15 minutes, for example, the OilMat valve will extract 17 ml of used, but filtered, engine oil and introduce it into the diesel tank to be blended with the diesel fuel. This oil then gets burnt as part of the combustion process. At the same time the OilMate valve will draw 17 ml of clean oil from a reservoir and introduce it to the engine's oil sump. The above cycle will be repeated for as long as the engine is running because the valve utilizes the pressure from the oil pump to let the valve's piston execute a stroke, and keyed power must be available to the unit's integral controller."

The fact that the additives in the oil are replenished continuously means contamination levels and viscosity of the oil are maintained within spec, says Jordaan. "What's more, the injector pump and injector system now receives extra lubrication from the oil added to the diesel fuel.
What's more, maintenance staff need never change the engine oil again. Contact with dirty oil is now limited to those occasions where oil filters need to be changed, and even here the OilMate system will be advantageous because oil filter life is extended from at least two times up to eight times, depending on the application."

A stitch in time - Julian Wilson, MAN's Regional Service Manager explains how the CANbus system interacts with the fuel and lubrication functions of the truck, warning the driver of any engine irregularities before they cause major problems.

Longer life
Disablement of the OilMate system in no way interferes with the operation of the diesel engine, Jordaan explains. "The engine will keep on running. It merely stops changing the oil automatically until such time that new oil is again introduced to the clean oil reservoir. When the latter happens, the alarm will be cancelled and the OilMate system will resume its operation automatically."

Jordaan is confident of the system's capabilities, "to at least double the life of your new diesel engine. Protection against wear and extended oil filter life will most certainly reflect as serious cost savings against your maintenance budget. Also, improved fuel consumption figures will be achieved because the old oil is now consumed as additional fuel. The small amount of oil added to the diesel fuel (0,3% to 0,5% per volume) provides much needed additional lubrication for the injector pump and the injectors, especially in view of the fact that our new cleaner diesel fuel now lacks most of the sulphur which previously performed this essential function. Finally, there's the environmental benefit of recycling used oil, rather than disposing of it at huge cost to both environment and the South African economy."

OilMate schema: This diagram shows the flow of oil from engine, through EMP tank and filter, to fuel tank.